Neighborhood Cultural Heterogeneity and Adolescent Violence

A small number of scholars have attempted to reorient current thinking about the way cultural effects operate in poor neighborhoods. Scholars argue that socioeconomic disadvantage fosters heterogeneity in cultural models. Moreover, cultural heterogeneity theoretically plays an important role in shaping adolescent decision-making in poor neighborhoods, including decisions related to violent behavior. We test these assumptions using multilevel data comprised of a sample of African-American adolescents. Our findings lend support to these arguments. In particular, the results suggested that neighborhood structural disadvantage increases the degree of disagreement or heterogeneity regarding the inappropriateness of violence. Further, exposure to cultural heterogeneity increased adolescents?? involvement in violent behavior and had a moderating influence on the link between individual frames and adolescent violent behavior.     

Looking Beyond Managerialism The 1995 National Conference of the Royal Institute of Public Administration Australia, held on 29th November to 1st December 1995, Brisbane

In providing this conference summation I have chosen to highlight six themes well represented during proceedings: (1) managerialism; (2) institutional scepticism; (3) markets and networks; (4) empowering the customer; (5) national governments and globalisation; and (6) legitimacy and the new tribes. As the conference included over 55 papers and four simultaneous strands it was impossible to cover everything — so these reflections are informed by personal preferences.     

Police officers' perceptual distortions during lethal force situations: Informing the reasonableness standard*

Research Summary In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court held that determinations about the constitutional appropriateness of police force usage—deadly or not—must be “judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.” Although the Court's ruling established a clear standard for judging officers' actions (i.e., the perspective of a reasonable police officer on the scene), we know little about the sorts of factors that might frame the perspective of reasonable police officers during situations in which they apply force. This article presents the results of a study that examined 80 police officers' detailed accounts of how they perceived what transpired during 113 incidents in which they shot citizens. Respondents reported experiencing a wide range of sensory distortions, with the vast majority of officers reporting two or more distinct sorts. This study takes these findings as a point of departure to expand our understanding of what constitutes a reasonable officer's perspective during the tense, uncertain moments during which he or she makes the decision to employ deadly force. Policy Implications Given that officers are likely to experience multiple distortions during shootings, the findings have implications for civilian and police oversight policies. In particular, those responsible for reviewing police shooting incidents should take into consideration that officers' behavior will not always be based on the objective reality of what is occurring at the time they decide to pull the trigger, but rather an altered conception of it. Such an understanding is crucial to improving the image of police in certain communities and positively impacting citizen trust of, and satisfaction with, the police.     

Breath alcohol measurement variability associated with different instrumentation and protocols

Breath alcohol measurement has variability resulting from instrumental, procedural and biological components. Reliable estimates of the standard deviation (S.D.) are necessary for calculating uncertainty in the form of confidence intervals. These estimates are concentration dependant and can be obtained from models derived from duplicate breath test data. Duplicate data from four state jurisdictions (Alabama using the Drager 7110, Minnesota using the Intoxilyzer 5000, Washington using the BAC Datamaster and Wisconsin using the Intoximeter EC/IR) were analyzed to derive predictive models for standard deviation as a function of concentration. All jurisdiction/instrument combinations yielded forensically acceptable variation while showing a general linear increase in standard deviation with concentration. This is consistent with a multiplicative error model. Jurisdictions using the same instruments but not performing duplicate analyses could also employ the straightforward models derived here to estimate standard deviations for their measurement results.